


the warmth after our misery

by Vepaluiron



Category: StarCraft (Video Games)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23518324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vepaluiron/pseuds/Vepaluiron
Summary: Kerrigan goes off on a mission, confident that she can handle it on her own. Nova is skeptical, and her caution saves her girlfriend.
Relationships: Sarah Kerrigan/November "Nova" Terra
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	the warmth after our misery

Kerrigan had told her that it would be an easy job. “The Dominion has barely enough men in there to be counted as an army,” She had said, her signature smirk on her face. “They clearly weren’t expecting me. It’ll take my swarm no time to break through their defenses and annihilate the factory. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Of course, Nova had still kept her ship in orbit. Not that she didn’t trust Kerrigan, but her lover had the tendency to be over-confident in her army and Nova was sure that it would come back one day to bite her in the ass. She sighed, rubbing her temples to offset the incoming headache. She knew that Kerrigan could handle herself, but… She had a bad feeling about the attack, a rumbling feeling in the depths of her stomach that spiked her anxiety. She sat on a chair in her room, one foot on the chair itself and the other on her desk. She had already ordered her men to keep an eye on the fight, and had stood over the console herself until her second forced her away from it, telling her to get some rest. She leaned back, pushing the back of her seat further down, and closed her eyes. “Deep breaths, Nova,” She mumbled to herself. “Deep breaths. Remember what-”

_“Fall back! Evolve more Zerglings, we need to hold them off. Fuck- I don’t care if we don’t have enough minerals, Izsha. Make the drones work faster!”_

Nova’s eyes flew open and she scrambled forward, almost falling off her chair. “Sarah?”

_“Nova?”_ Kerrigan’s voice was quivering, filled with… fear? That couldn’t be right. Sarah Kerrigan never got afraid. _“You can hear me?”_

“Yeah. What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

_“Listen, there isn’t much time-”_ Kerrigan’s voice faded out, her telekinesis focusing on another connection. Nova gripped the arms of her chair and focused, reaching her mind out to hear Kerrigan’s words. _“Pull back, make another hatchery if you need to. Build up defenses. We need to focus on staying alive.”_ Kerrigan returned to her connection with Nova. _“Nova, it’s a trap!”_

“What?”

_“Mengsk- He somehow knew that I’d be attacking Sechupra. The bastard hid an entire fucking army in the factory. We’re trying to get back to the Leviathan but he has anti-aircraft cannons up, we can’t get out of orbit safely.”_

Nova pulled herself up and grabbed her rifle off of her bed. “Hold on. I’m coming down there.”

_“What? No- You’ll get shot down before you can even get close. Go, I’ll find my way back somehow.”_

“Yeah, because that worked out great last time.” Nova shuddered at the mere thought of Mengsk getting his dirty hands on Kerrigan. “It’s fine, I’ll head down there by myself first and take out the cannons.” She slung her sniper behind her back and headed out. “When they’re down, my troops will land behind the Dominion and distract them until you can get out.”

There was a long silence before Kerrigan finally responded, her voice strained. _“Alright. Act quickly, I don’t know how much longer we can hold this position.”_ There was another long pause, the only thing Nova could hear being her own footsteps as she ran towards the hangar. _“… I love you.”_

“Love you too, Sarah. Be safe”

Kerrigan laughed bitterly. _“I’ll try.”_

Nova stepped into her ship as her Adjutant welcomed her. She settled in her seat and checked her cloaking devices. Her own ship was small, only able to hold one person comfortably, but it was great for stealth missions. She flipped on the engine. “Adjutant, get ready for takeoff.”

“Getting ready for takeoff, Commander. You have an incoming transmission.”

“Let it through.”

“Commander,” The concerned faces of her crew stared at her through the holographic screen. “Where are you going?”

“Kerrigan alerted me to anti-air cannons in the Dominion base, I need to take them out if we’re going to land.”

“What should we do, then?”

“Wait for my signal, then land behind their army.” She smirked. “We’re going to trap them between us and the Swarm.”

“Understood, Commander. Have a safe flight.”

She opened up the map on her screen. “Show me where the cannons are, Adjutant.”

“Scanning… The cannons have been marked on your map, Commander. I would recommend approaching from the north, then making your way toward the Dominion army.”

“Got it. Set a course for the northernmost cannon.”

“Understood.”

Nova closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, trying to find Kerrigan. _“I’m coming, Sarah.”_

_“Hurry.”_ Kerrigan’s voice was faded, Nova having to focus to hear her properly. _“They’re starting to break through the first of my defenses.”_

“Approaching the first target, Commander.”

_“Don’t worry. I’ll be there before you know it.”_ Nova slipped on a parachute and checked her arsenal one last time, making sure that all her guns and blades were on her. “Prepare for drop-off.”

\----- o -----

Kerrigan leaned against the cave wall, breathing heavily and clutching her side.

_“Immobilization wave is available, my Queen.”_

All her troops were dead. Her drones destroyed, her Hatchery obliterated. The last of her zerglings had fallen trying to cover her retreat. The only remaining zerg under her control were the spine crawlers defending her that were currently getting annihilated by Sky Furies. Her only remaining hope for survival was Nova, and she wasn’t sure if she could hold out long enough. She slid down the wall. She had to conserve her energy, and the multiple gunshot wounds didn’t help her. If she wasn’t Zerg she would’ve bled out a long time ago.

She could hear the echoed screams of the attacking Terrans at the entrance of the cave. At least her crawlers were thinning out the army she’d have to inevitably face. One spire fell, then another, then another, until she felt the psychic connection of the last vestiges of her fallen army snuff out. She pushed herself up, leaning heavily on nearby rocks. _“Well,”_ she thought, smiling bitterly to herself as marines rushed to her position. _“If they want to kill me, they’ll have to work for it.”_

“There she is!”

She closed her eyes as bullets started to rain over her, focusing her energy within her body, letting the tension build up until she could feel it ready to snap. Her eyes flew open, glowing with the pure energy flowing through her being, and with a primal roar she released the power within her.

Hundreds laid dead around her. Her enemies and her own brood both laid as broken and twisted corpses, yet it seemed as if for every Terran she killed two more took their place. _“Is this how it feels to face the Swarm?”_ She thought as her wings ripped through marines in her path. _“How ironic.”_ She could feel shots piercing through chitin and flesh, but the pain she should’ve been feeling was suppressed by the sheer adrenaline coursing through her body. She swung, and blasted, and killed until she physically couldn’t anymore; until her body was falling apart and her legs couldn’t carry her as she fell to her knees. She growled, eyes wide and feral, daring the nearby soldiers to get close to her. The marines hesitated, then parted as a heavily armored figure approached her. The man’s helmet rose to reveal his face, heavily scarred and with a permanent grimace. Kerrigan could see the malice in his eyes without having to reach into his mind.

“Well, well, well…” The man sneered, stopping just out of the reach of her wings. “I guess the Queen of Blades ain’t immortal after all.” He glanced back at his troops. “Head back to the base and join the rest of the army. Got chatter on comms about Terrans landing behind us. Make sure they’re not trouble.”

Kerrigan’s heart leapt up to her throat. Could it be..? She reached out with her mind, desperately trying to find the one mind that she knew so intimately. _“Nova?”_

_“I’m almost there, Sarah. Hold on a little longer.”_

He turned back to look at Kerrigan. “I’ll take care of her.” His men saluted him and marched out of the cave, leaving the two of them alone.

“Coward!” She spat. She had to keep him talking, no matter what. “Is trickery the only way the Dominion knows how to fight? The Swarm will destroy you.”

The man laughed, taking out his pistol from its holster slowly. He held it up, as if inspecting it. “I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the Dominion. But when I bring the Emperor the infamous Queen of Blades’ head…” He aimed his gun at Kerrigan’s forehead, a wicked smile stretching his scarred features. “I’ll be a hero. People will adore me. All that stands between me and the fame and glory I deserve is a bitch waiting to be put down.”

“You’re a fool if you truly think that will happen. Mengsk won’t recognize your ‘achievement’, he’ll take it for himself. You’ll die in a ditch, forgotten.” She leaned forward, eyes glowing in anger. “You will be nobody.”

The grin on his face shifted into a sneer as his grip tightened. He took another step, placing the barrel of his pistol on her forehead. “Shut up! I’ll fucking kill you-”

Blood sprayed all over Kerrigan’s face. The Terran clutched his throat, scraping at the knife sticking out of his esophagus. He gurgled out something unintelligible and fell to his knees. Kerrigan wanted to reach up and wipe his blood off her eyes but her arms refused to move. She could only watch, vision blurring as exhaustion sat in, as Nove sauntered up to the Terran and held him down with her boot to pull her knife out. The ghost laughed and cleaned the blood off her knife on the man’s face.

“Well,” She sheathed her blade and turned around, a wide smile on her face. “What an asshole, right?” Nova’s voice started to echo in Kerrigan’s ears. Kerrigan tried to reach out, to say something, but her limbs refused to obey her. “Great plan, by the way. Your distraction let me get close without him getting a _ghost_ of an idea I was here!”

Kerrigan’s limbs finally gave out and she collapsed face-first into the ground. She groaned, trying to push herself back up, but all it did was send another pulse of pain up her arms. Nova’s face shifted into a concerned frown. She crouched down. “Kerrigan? C’mon my joke wasn’t that bad.” She let out an awkward laugh, then stopped when Kerrigan twitched and let out a groan again. She grabbed Kerrigan’s shoulders and flipped her on her back with a grunt, eyes widening as she saw the blood that oozed out of the holes in her flesh. “Shit. Shit!” She reached up to her ear and turned on comms. “Adjutant, send my ship to my current position.” She gently lifted Kerrigan onto her lap and brushed the blood out of the Zerg Queen’s eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad?” Her voice shook as she whispered. “I would’ve… I... I don’t know-”

Kerrigan wanted to reach up, to reassure her lover, but her mind was sluggish and her body refused her orders. She, instead, reached out with her mind, pouring the rest of her energy into one last message before she fully passed out. _“Nothing that happened here was your fault.”_ As her vision blackened and her hearing faded, she felt Nova lift her up and start commanding her troops.

“Pull back.” Nova’s voice was surprisingly calm as she gave orders. “Sending in a tactical nuke.” She felt a cold, metallic hand on her cheek. “Stay with me, Sarah. I’m getting us out of here.”

The last thing Kerrigan heard before darkness overtook her was a faint explosion in the distance.

\----- o -----

Nova sighed, worry still eating at her even after a week of listening to Abathur explain how the zerg cocoon would heal Kerrigan. He had told her that it would take time, and that the Queen of Blades had been hurt worse before and survived, but it didn’t stop her from pacing around in the evolution chamber all day until either Abathur or Zagara kicked her out.

“Organism: Nova. Extreme stress. Not good.”

Nova stopped her pacing and turned around, scowling. Abathur stood in front of the cocoon, growing out of the ground as he usually did. She crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want, Abathur?”

“Leviathan not good for Terran psychics. Too many signals, too little understanding.” He paused as if he was considering his next words carefully. “Queen would not want harm to come to Organism Nova.”

Nova uncrossed her arms and sighed. “Look. I’ll leave in a bit, okay? Just… Let me have some time alone with her.”

“...Acceptable.”

The ghost knelt over Kerrigan, her hand resting over the translucent cocoon. She thought back to another time, of XT3923 and how Valerian had kept Kerrigan caged like a lab rat. And here they were, a barrier between them, again. All because Nova had failed her promise as Kerrigan’s partner, again. Her throat tightened, and she choked back tears. She rested her head on the cocoon, right over where Kerrigan's shoulder would’ve been. The thin but resistant membrane rippled and she watched bubbles rise up in the thick, green gel. If she closed her eyes she could hear Kerrigan’s stable heartbeat through the liquid. She breathed deep and slowly, slowing her own heartbeat to match the woman under her. Kerrigan’s heartbeat had always calmed her down, and even with the cocoon between them it was enough to lull Nova into a light sleep.

_“Nova?”_

Nova flew back, eyes darting around to find the source of the voice before she realized who it was. She slowly looked down at Kerrigan, whose eyes were closed and body limp. She reached down and gently touched the membrane. “Sarah? Are… Are you alright?”

_“I am.”_ Kerrigan’s wings shifted slightly, brushing and pushing up the membrane. _“You might want to stand back. This will get… messy.”_

Nova took a few steps back, and watched as Kerrigan’s wings ripped through the cocoon. Green translucent gel oozed out, the membrane deflating, and the Leviathan seemed to slowly absorb the liquid. Kerrigan sat up with a groan and wiped the goo off her face. “That’s better.”

Despite the storm of emotions going on inside of her, Nova cracked a smile. “I have… so many dirty jokes in my mind right now, you wouldn’t believe it.” She stepped forward, wincing as she stepped in the goo, held out a hand to help Kerrigan up.

Kerrigan took her hand and pulled herself up. “I can literally read your mind, darlin’. But shoot.”

“Let’s see…” Nova hummed, smile growing wider. “I’m stuck between ‘this isn’t what I meant when I said you get me wet’ and ‘should I be jealous of how wet the Zerg make you’. Thoughts?”

“Both are terrible,” Kerrigan tried to say with a straight face, but a soft smile was pulling at her lips. “But I think I have a worse one.”

“Oh? What is it-” Nova let out a yelp as Kerrigan pulled her in for a tight hug. Nova relaxed into the embrace, sighing softly, before she realized that the front of her Hostile Environment Suit was covered in slime. She pulled back with a scandalized look on her face. Kerrigan laughed, the rich sound bouncing off the walls.

“Now I can say I got you wet!”

Nova stood in silence, stunned, before she let out a shocked “Sarah!” while laughing. “I can’t believe you just- Holy shit.” Her laughter died down slowly, and she hugged Kerrigan closer, the taller woman letting out a confused hum at her sudden mood change. She gently stroked the Ghost’s hair, minding her claws.

“What’s wrong, darlin’? Talk to me.”

  
  


“It’s just…” Nova let out a shaky laugh, hugging even harder. “It’s stupid, but I was so afraid- Even though you were the one almost dying, the thought of losing you again…” She swallowed and shook her head

“Nova, look at me.” Nova lifted her head. Kerrigan was visibly worried, those purple eyes she so adored filled with concern. “It’s not stupid. You went through a lot, we both did. It’s alright to feel this way.”

“But-”

“No buts. I’m calm because I went through this entire process before. And I know if you had been the one that got hurt, I would’ve been the same way.” Kerrigan smiled gently and brushed Nova’s bangs to the sides, trying to fix the slime’s effects. “How about this: You and I get out of here and take a nice, long, shower to get this goo off of us, and then we sleep it off.”

Nova sniffed, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, before standing up on her tiptoes and kissing Kerrigan. She pulled away after a few seconds, smiling. “We really need that shower.”

\----- o -----

Nova slowly opened her eyes, yawning. She blinked and rubbed her eyes to clear them, then pulled back ever the slightest back from the arms surrounding her, trying to not wake up the other woman. Kerrigan looked so peaceful while sleeping, a rare sight these days. Her body was perfectly fitted over Nova’s. They had figured out that Kerrigan had to lie on her left side to not impale the mattress with her shoulder, and that if Nova kept her legs between Kerrigan’s thighs they wouldn’t have trouble with her leg spikes. Even her wings, something Kerrigan had been worried about while trying to figure out how she’d ever sleep in a bed with Nova again, had found their places- one laid, limp, behind Kerrigan, the tips touching the floor, the other curled around Nova protectively. Nova lifted her currently free arm and ran her fingers over Kerrigan’s wings- she’d always loved to see how her lover’s new body worked. Kerrigan shivered, then cracked open one eye, a smile on her face.

“‘Morning, darlin’. What’re you thinking about?”

“Just about how my girlfriend is the most beautiful person in the universe, and about how lucky I am to have her.”

“Wow,” Nova could’ve sworn that Kerrigan blushed. “Someone must’ve had some good dreams.”

“I don’t need good dreams to see how pretty you are, love. And as I remember it…” Nova pushed herself up on her bed to kiss Kerrigan on the nose, a large grin on her face. “We didn’t get much sleep last night. Which was completely your fault, might I remind you.”

“Guilty as charged.” Kerrigan shrugged, though she didn’t look like she was feeling guilty at all. “But that’s all the more reason to stay in bed, no?”

“You’re right.” Nova’s hands moved from Kerrigan’s wings, to her armor, to her hair. She sighed. “I just want to stay in this moment forever.”

“Please tell me you’re free today.”

“Let me check.” Nova glanced back towards her desk. “Adjutant, do I have anything on my schedule today?”

“Good morning, Commander Nova.” The console on her desk lit up. “You are scheduled for a mission briefing with Commander Raynor-”

“Cancel it.” Nova threw a smirk at Kerrigan. “Tell him… I’m still very busy with the whole Sechupra situation.”

“Understood. Anything else, Commander?”

“No, thank you Adjutant.” The lights on the console turned off as Nova snuggled into Kerrigan’s chest. “Nope.” She said, popping the ‘p’, a smug smile on her face. “Nothing to do today.”

“If that’s the case, how about we sleep in a bit more, then raid the kitchens for brunch?”

“That sounds perfect.” Nova lifted her head for a moment and kissed her lover, feeling her smile against her lips. “I love you, Sarah.”

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy, here we go! welcome to my newest obsession. these ladies deserve more love and damn it i'll do my best to give it to them.
> 
> thanks to [reynarius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reynarius/pseuds/Reynarius) for giving me inspiration for this fic!


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